Talence Multi-events this weekend

[DecFan]

The decathlon field at Talence this weekend looks to be even better than normal. These links (first, second) summarize the fields. Unfortunately for many of you, they are both in French . . . but here are the key competitors:

Decathlon:
Hardee, Pappas, Arnold, Pogorelov, Kasyanov, Sysoev, Behrenbruch, Wiberg, Kravchenko, Sebrle, Barras. That's 6 of the top 7 at Worlds (and 9 of the top 12), plus Pappas, who missed Berlin but has outscored everyone this year except Hardee and Suarez..

Heptathlon:
Dobrynska, Yosypenko, Melnychenko, Chernova, Day, Pickler, Djimou.

[Half Miler]

Really looking forward to what Pappas has to offer.

[DecFan]

The decathlon field has shrunk a bit as athletes make final declarations: Hardee and Sebrle are not competing. Pappas thus may well go in as favorite.

Should be a great competition - still 5 of the top 7 from Berlin, plus Pappas.

[Marlow]

If Hardee were to PR, let's say 8800, but Pappas wins in 8900 (not that there's a high likelihood), what'll that do to the rankings?

[26mi235]

If Hardee were to PR, let's say 8800, but Pappas wins in 8900 (not that there's a high likelihood), what'll that do to the rankings?

Who won what medals?

[Jon]

If Hardee were to PR, let's say 8800, but Pappas wins in 8900 (not that there's a high likelihood), what'll that do to the rankings?

Moot point - look at the message above yours. Hardee isn't competing. If anything, that boosts his chances of a No.1 ranking because he doesn't run the risk of suffering a defeat to Pappas (or anyone else).

[gh]

The only thing that could kill a No. 1 for Hardee would be for him to compete at Talence and lose to Schrader, who beat him at Götzis (but missed WC with injury). And even that would be open to debate.

[mike renfro]

I have had some family problems and havn't been very religious about checking this site. What's the deal with Fountain? She seemed to be hurdling and LJing pretty well and I had hoped that she might muddy the Hep rankings with a nice score. Alas

[DecFan]

What's the deal with Fountain? She seemed to be hurdling and LJing pretty well and I had hoped that she might muddy the Hep rankings with a nice score. Alas

I assume she is not yet high jumping after her neck problems. But I have no word on that, and a quick search yielded nothing on the internet. She certainly did come back from her neck injury to long jump well in the latter half of the season.

[DecFan]

Not a good start for Pappas: 11.09 in the 100. He has run 11.00 or faster in every decathlon in which he's scored over 8000. In his 8569 earlier this year he ran 10.84 - so he's down 56 points on that score after the first event.

On the other hand, none of the sprint times were fast. Perhaps it's cold. In relation to his competitors, he looks ok. Kasyanov leads with his 10.73 - a tenth down (22 points) on his Berlin performance.

[DecFan]

Pappas again was over 50 points down in the LJ compared to his 8569 performance (7.39 vs 7.63). Kasyanov, once again, was closer to his Berlin performance than any of the others. My projections now are very close between Pappas, Kasyanov, and Pogorelov, but of the three, at this point Kasyanov seems to be the best prepared. He looks to have the edge. In Berlin, he had breakthrough performances in the shot and the HJ, so the next two events will be telling for him.

[DecFan]

SP was same for Pappas, 59 points down on his Marburg performance. None of the top competitors has yet matched or exceeded Berlin or Marburg points in any event - but since Pogorelov and Kasyanov have come closest, they look like the ones to beat. At this point it looks like the winning score will be low 8300s.

[gh]

....
On the other hand, none of the sprint times were fast. Perhaps it's cold. ,,..

weatherunderground sez:

68° F | 57° F


T-storms
70% chance of precipitation

[DecFan]

On the women's side, Dobrynska is 63 pts up on her Berlin performance (6444) through 3 events. Yosypenko is 14 under hers (6416), Melnychenko is 85 under hers (6414) and Sharon Day (presently sitting in 2nd) is 40 under hers (6126). Dobrynska looks tough to beat.

[DecFan]

In the HJ, Pappas came through big time, jumping 2.06 - only a cm below his Marburg clearance. Kasyanov faltered, clearing only 2.00 after 2.05 in Berlin, while Behrenbruch bombed (1.93 vs 2.02). Pogorelov was also disappointing (2.03 vs 2.08). Sysoyev becomes the first of the leading men to exceed his Berlin or Marburg performance in any event, clearing 2.06 (vs 2.02).

Kasyanov still has the edge, but this was a big move by Pappas and Sysoyev.